Professor Andrew Shepherd

My research focusses on measuring changes of the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, on understanding their interaction with the global climate system, and on establishing their contribution to global sea level rise. I also have a keen interest in the calibration and validation of satellite systems, and in the development of novel satellite sensors to tackle problems in geophysical research. To do this, I work closely with technical experts in space agencies and in the space industrial sector, with scientific collaborators in glaciology, meteorology, oceanography, and ice sheet modelling, and with government agencies.

• Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
• Lead and Floe Detection From CryoSat-2 Radar and ICESat-2 Laser Altimetry, Tilling, R., Egido, A., Harbeck, J., Kurtz, N., Petty, A., Ridout, A., Shepherd, A., Wimert, J., Yi, D. 1 Feb 2026, In: Earth and Space Science
• Mass balance of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets from the 1970s to 2023, Otosaka, I., Shepherd, A., Amory, C., Horwath, M., Ivins, E., King, M., Nowicki, S., Payne, A., Rignot, E., Sandberg Sørensen, L., Schlegel, N., Simon, K., Smith, B., Sutterley, T., van den Broeke, M., Velicogna, I., A, G., Agosta, C., Ditmar, P., Döhne, T., Engdahl, M., Fettweis, X., Forsberg, R., Gardner, A., Gilbert, L., Goelzer, H., Gourmelen, N., Groh, A., Hansen, N., Harig, C., Helm, V., Khan, S., Kittel, C., Langen, P., Larsen, M., Loomis, B., McMillan, M., Medley, B., Melini, D., Mottram, R., Muir, A., Nilsson, J., Noël, B., Pattle, M., Aparici, M., Sasgen, I., Save, H., Scheuchl, B., Schrama, E., Schröder, L., Seo, K., Simonsen, S., Slater, T., Spada, G., Vishwakarma, B., Wever, N., Wiese, D., Wouters, B. 10 Aug 2026, In: Scientific data
• Toward an Improved Understanding of the Antarctic Coastal Zone and Its Contribution to Future Global Sea Level, Matsuoka, K., Moholdt, G., Arthur, J., Bodart, J., Cui, X., Ferraccioli, F., Forsberg, R., Goel, V., Jordan, T., McCormack, F., Mottram, R., Pritchard, H., Shackleton, C., Tinto, K., Boberg, F., Cavitte, M., Drews, R., Dutrieux, P., Ebbing, J., Eisen, O., Eisermann, H., Gardner, A., Greene, C., Holschuh, N., Jamieson, S., Kim, B., Krauzig, N., Kulessa, B., Leuschen, C., Li, J., Li, L., Liebsch, J., MacGregor, J., MacKie, E., Mahagaonkar, A., Maton, J., Morlighem, M., Navarro, F., Neff, P., Otosaka, I., Pattyn, F., Ruppel, A., Sanderson, R., Seroussi, H., Shepherd, A., Siegfried, M., Slater, T., Stroeven, A., Studinger, M., Teisberg, T., Venturelli, R., Winberry, J., Zhao, C., An, L., Bamber, J., Bell, R., Bingham, R., Brehmer-Moltmann, J., Eagles, G., Greenbaum, J., Gronset, J., Lee, W., Le Meur, E., Jong, L., Lindbäck, K., Lidström, S., Lösing, M., Minowa, M., Pandey, M., Ray, Y., Scheinert, M., Schroeder, D., Seehaus, T., Shahateet, K., Steinhage, D., Tang, X., Taylor, D., Verboncoeur, H., Yang, J., Young, D. Sep 2026, In: Reviews of Geophysics
• BIOPOLE - Biogeochemical processes and ecosystem functioning in changing polar systems and their global impacts, Tarling, G., Abrahamsen, E., Aksenov, Y., Anderson, M., Arrowsmith, C., Baker, C., Barry, C., Belcher, A., Benavides, M., Bischof, M., Boland, E., Bowes, M., Brearley, J., Brown, P., Burson, A., Buzzard, S., Callaghan, N., Coët, A., Cook, K., Coombs, S., Evans, C., Fielding, S., Ford, E., Fournier, I., Freer, J., Garcia-Martin, E., Ghosh, V., Giering, S., Grant, A., Griffiths, H., Hamilton, R., Hendry, K., Hill, S., Hubot, N., Hunter, A., Johnston, N., Katavouta, A., Kitson, E., Leng, M., Lewis, I., Linse, K., Lofts, S., Manno, C., Martin, A., Marzocchi, A., Mawji, E., Mayor, D., McKenzie, R., Meijers, A., Meredith, M., Munday, D., Pereira, M., O'Brien, A., Olszewska, J., Painter, S., Palmiéri, J., Patel, S., Pickard, A., Richt, J., Rynders, S., Sanders, R., Saunders, R., Shepherd, A., Slater, T., Spears, B., Stowasser, G., Swiggs, A., Taylor, L., ten Hoopen, P., Thorpe, S., Timms-Wilson, T., van Soest, M., Venables, H., Wright, Z., Yool, A., Young, E. 3 Sep 2025, In: Research Ideas and Outcomes
• Detecting sea ice leads and floes in the Northwest Passage using CryoSat-2, Swiggs, A., Lawrence, I., Ridout, A., Shepherd, A. 1 Jan 2025, In: IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
• Multi-frequency altimetry snow depth estimates over heterogeneous snow-covered Antarctic summer sea ice - Part 2: Comparing airborne estimates with near-coincident CryoSat-2 and ICESat-2 (CRYO2ICE), Fredensborg Hansen, R., Skourup, H., Rinne, E., Jutila, A., Lawrence, I., Shepherd, A., Høyland, K., Li, J., Rodriguez-Morales, F., Simonsen, S., Wilkinson, J., Veyssiere, G., Yi, D., Forsberg, R., Casal, T. 2 Oct 2025, In: The Cryosphere
• A Simulation of Snow on Antarctic Sea Ice Based on Satellite Data and Climate Reanalyses, Lawrence, I., Ridout, A., Shepherd, A., Tilling, R. 1 Jan 2024, In: Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans
• Greenland Ice Sheet Elevation Change From CryoSat‐2 and ICESat‐2, Ravinder, N., Shepherd, A., Otosaka, I., Slater, T., Muir, A., Gilbert, L. 28 Dec 2024, In: Geophysical Research Letters
• Publisher Correction: Remotely sensing potential climate change tipping points across scales, Lenton, T., Abrams, J., Bartsch, A., Bathiany, S., Boulton, C., Buxton, J., Conversi, A., Cunliffe, A., Hebden, S., Lavergne, T., Poulter, B., Shepherd, A., Smith, T., Swingedouw, D., Winkelmann, R., Boers, N. 1 Mar 2024, In: Nature Communications
• Remotely sensing potential climate change tipping points across scales, Lenton, T., Abrams, J., Bartsch, A., Bathiany, S., Boulton, C., Buxton, J., Conversi, A., Cunliffe, A., Hebden, S., Lavergne, T., Poulter, B., Shepherd, A., Smith, T., Swingedouw, D., Winkelmann, R., Boers, N. 6 Jan 2024, In: Nature Communications

• Marlena Holloway Lake and Sea Ice UAV Altimetry Start Date: 01/10/2025
• Marlena Holloway Quantifying Arctic Sea Ice Thickness though UAV and Satellite Remote Sensing Start Date: 01/10/2025 End Date: 17/10/2025
• Amy Swiggs Exploring Arctic sea ice variability using satellite and meteorological records Start Date: 01/07/2023 End Date: 17/10/2025
• Natasha Lee Trends in the Extent and Colour of Icelandic Proglacial Lakes Detected using Optical Satellite Remote Sensing Start Date: 28/03/2023 End Date: 17/10/2025
• Amy Swiggs Exploring Arctic sea ice variability using satellite and meteorological records Start Date: 01/07/2023 End Date: 20/12/2025
• Natasha Lee Trends in the Extent and Colour of Icelandic Proglacial Lakes Detected using Optical Satellite Remote Sensing Start Date: 28/03/2023 End Date: 21/03/2026

My work is often reported in the media, and you can see me in a range of TV programmes including:

• Climate Change: The Facts
• Greta Thunberg: A year to change the World
• University Challenge Christmas Special  

Prizes and Awards

I have been awarded the following prizes:

• 2008: Philip Leverhulme Prize
• 2014: Royal Society Woldfson Research Merit Award
• 2021: International Glaciology Society Richardson Medal (share of)

Physics PhD January 01 1998